Search Tactic
Generative Engine Optimisation
Also known as: GEO
The discipline of optimising content to be cited inside generative answers across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and AI Overviews. Overlapping but distinct from classical SEO, favours specificity, citation-worthy claims, and structured attribution.
What it is
Generative Engine Optimisation is the practice of structuring and writing content so it gets cited inside AI generated answers across systems like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. It favours specific, verifiable claims, clear attribution, and content shaped for synthesis rather than for a ranked list of links.
Why it matters
As more queries are resolved inside generative answers, being the cited source rather than the tenth blue link determines whether a brand is seen at all. GEO captures visibility in surfaces where traditional ranking signals no longer apply.
How it works
Lead with a defensible claim, name the entities and sources behind it, add structured data and dates, and write self contained passages that a model can lift without surrounding context. Audit which AI engines already cite you and reverse engineer the passages they quote.
When it applies
It applies whenever your audience asks questions that generative engines now answer directly, especially informational and comparison queries.
Examples
- A SaaS firm rewrites its pricing explainer into discrete, factual statements and starts appearing as a named source in Perplexity answers about its category.
- A health publisher adds author credentials and citation dates to each claim, and an AI Overview begins attributing a definition to it.
- A B2B blog restructures a long guide into clearly scoped sections so Claude can quote a single paragraph cleanly.
How it is measured
- Frequency of brand or domain citations across AI answer surfaces
- Share of tracked prompts where the brand appears as a named source
- Referral traffic from AI assistants and answer engines
- Proportion of target questions where your passage is the quoted text
Related terms in Search Tactic
- Answer Engine OptimisationThe practice of structuring content so it can be lifted directly into AI answers. Close cousin of GEO; emphasises clean, parseable facts and unambiguous attribution.
- Citation-worthy contentContent with the qualities LLMs select for when synthesising an answer: a single, defensible claim per paragraph; named entities; first-hand evidence; and a clear authority signal.
- Digital discoveryThe full set of channels through which people find brands, products, and answers, search engines, AI assistants, social platforms, marketplaces, and agentic browsers. Replaces the narrower frame of just “SEO”.
- Intent resolutionHow completely a page answers the underlying job the searcher was trying to do, not whether it matches the keywords used. The dominant ranking factor post-Google May 2026 core update.
- LLM-friendly contentContent structured to be parseable and citation-worthy by language models: clear claims, specific facts, named sources, structured data, and unambiguous attribution.